Latest figures show diabetes still on the rise

A report compiled by the British Heart Foundation suggests the number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes has increased by 3.5 percent during the last year, and by more than 65 percent since 2005.

Latest figures show diabetes still on the rise

A report compiled by the British Heart Foundation suggests the number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes has increased by 3.5 percent during the last year, and by more than 65 percent since 2005.

According to the latest GP patient information, almost 3.5 million adults in the UK are living with diabetes today, up from 3.3 million last year and 2 million in 2004/2005. Many hundreds of thousands more are estimated to have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

The charity is warning that having diabetes significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, which includes an increased risk of a deadly heart attack or stroke, and of losing limbs because of poor circulation. The BHF also recently announced its intention to fund more than half a billion pounds of new cardiovascular research over the next five years.

“Up to 4 million adults in the UK may have diabetes, so treatments are urgently needed that can help prevent them suffering a deadly or disabling heart attack or stroke,” says Professor Peter Weissberg, the BHF’s medical director.

Forty-three-year-old Feebee Cox was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2013. She tried to manage her condition through lifestyle changes, but found that she still needed medication. Her partner Lawrence has also more recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and has had two heart attacks.

“It’s scary to think how much more likely I am to have a heart attack because of diabetes,” says Feebee. “Since my diagnosis I’ve changed my diet and keep active through walking and regularly visiting the gym. It really helps that Lawrence and I can support each other on this journey.

“But I still need to take medicines to manage my condition and any new treatments that can be discovered to further reduce my risk of a heart problem would be hugely comforting.”

Related Articles

A report published by NHS Digital shows the number of prescriptions for medicines used to treat diabetes has increased from almost 29 million a year in 2006/2007 to 52 million a year in 2016/2017. This is a rise of just over 80 percent, compared with a rise of 46 percent in the number of all […]